Treasurer’s Report- Sue explained the report and it was accepted by the board.

Communications & Input

WOW update- Paul is still looking for volunteers for the viewing stations. Chris is volunteering in the art area, and Carol is working in the kid’s area. Paul and Steven are volunteering for the Riefel bus trip. Pam is staffing the NCAS table on Saturday and Judy offered to help out.

Mature trees letter to City of Bellingham update – Rae read her current draft of the letter to the City. She asked for comments and will submit the letter this week so needs comments by March 9. The board was pleased with her draft.

Museum update: Pam asked for volunteers to be at the opening of the new 3rd floor Bird Exhibit. Paul, Jamie, Nicole, Carol, Owen and possibly Rae will be at the opening on March 15. Audubon will be at the Museum on the 4th Sundays in May – August. Pam is looking for volunteers for these Sundays from 2-4pm at the Museum: May 28, June 25, July 23, and Aug 27.

WOS conference update – Ken is gone so there was no update.

Website update – Jamie talked about creating a digital file storage in Google Sites for NCAS documents. All of us could be using this site for storing minutes, documents, financial reports, etc. and we wouldn’t need to be worried about back up. It would also allow easier access for everyone. There is no cost for not for profits. Sue will get Jamie a copy of the documentation for our 501 (c) (3) status. Jamie will work on setting this up and report at the next meeting.

Climate Group update- No update because of February meeting cancellation due to weather.

Marine Bird Class update – 30 people came the first night and 20 came the second night. 15 were signed up for the field trip, but only three came because of bad weather. There was some good feedback on how to improve the next class.

Bird Friendly Broadcast Tower article – The article will be in the next newsletter.

Background Checks Account Application – Sue stated that NCAS needs to select an administrator and user before submitting an application for the account at Washington State Patrol. Pam will be the administrator and Chris will be a user, and Pam will complete and submit the application.

Waiver liability form – There were additional comments and it is now finalized. Ken will need to coordinate using the form with field trip leaders, maintain a file of the forms and submit the names of any people providing emails to Kelley for informational purposes. Chris will make the final changes and follow up with Ken.

New meeting room needed for board meetings – WECU will be converting the Education Center into offices in April so we will be having meetings in the old Baskin Robbins building through June. Pam will be looking for a new meeting place. The board provided some suggestions for meeting spaces.

Special meeting notices – Kelley is amenable to sending out meeting notices of special programs to the full membership but needs a few days notification because of her busy schedule.

Old Business

Swan update – A check has been sent for half of the invoice and the taxidermist is currently working on the bird.

Membership software – Jamie will keep working on this but has no update.

Scholarship for WCC Community Ed Birding classes – The board agreed to provide scholarships for one half of the cost of tuition for the WCC Community Ed Birding Class to 3 participants each quarter. Nicole will be the contact person and will work on putting together a scholarship request application form. The board decided that a scholarship recipient needs to complete the class and will need to pay for the tuition up front. Scholarships will be paid out at the end of the class. We will advertise the scholarships in the NCAS newsletter and are hoping that the Community College is open to making note of the scholarships in the blurb for the class. Sue will ask Ken to follow up with WCC on this last issue.

New Business

National Park Service and U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Reintroduction Plan – Paul requested the board sign-on for a letter supporting the reintroduction plan. Board agreed and decided to support option C.

Consider scholarships for high school seniors – Board decided we wanted to see how the WCC scholarships work out and take up the issue next year.

City of Ferndale bird walk May 10 – Pam is looking for volunteers to help lead a bird walk. Paul agreed to help out and others may also help out.

Committee Reports as needed

Education update

Birds and Brew – Gathering will be Saturday, May 20, and will be coordinated by Jamie and Nicole. We are hoping to be able to gather at Stones Throw Brewery. Board members were asked to help distribute posters once they are ready.

Scudder Pond walk April 7 at 9:30 am – Everyone is welcome to help out. People coming to the walk will be divided up into groups depending on skill level and age.

The committee is looking at two activities for the autumn to be held in rural Whatcom County, at places such as Deming or Ferndale. Other potential programs are a mini CBC for adults and young people.

Next meeting is March 23 at Woods Coffee.

Programs

March 18: Sergio Seipke- Hawk Watching Around the World: Raptor Highlights of Six Continents

March 28: Matt Christensen and Sarah Brookes- Friends of Semiahmoo Bay: Stewardship North of the 49th Parallel

April 25: Jonathan White- Tides: Science and Spirit of the Ocean

May 23: Kathleen Bander- It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, No It’s a Bat

Oct. 24: Ed Diehl- Coopers Hawk study in Seattle

Follow-ups:

Rae will submit mature trees letter to the City of Bellingham.

Pam will find volunteers for the Sunday Museum programs.

Jamie will continue to investigate and possibly set up a Google Sites digital storage site for NCAS.

Sue will send Jamie a copy of the NCAS 501 (c) (3) form.

Pam will complete the background check application and submit it to WSP.

Jamie will continue to investigate a new membership database.

Chris will finish up the field trip waiver form and contact Ken to coordinate usage of the form.

Pam will find a new meeting space for the board meetings.

Nicole will develop an application for a scholarship to be used for the Community Ed Birding Class.

Ken will continue to follow-up with the Community College regarding scholarships.

Paul will follow-up on the letter regarding supporting the Grizzly Bear Reintroduction Plan.

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Mission Statement

The purpose of this society is to promote the study and conservation of birds and other wildlife, their habitat, and the environment; to increase public appreciation of the values of wildlife, plants, and the natural environment; and to stimulate action to protect and preserve them for the future.